Sewing-machine for manufacturing smocked plaits.



' No. 838,348. PATENT-ED DEC.1'1, 1905.

' V E. K. A. MEUMANN & M. J. HIRSGH.

SEWING MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING smocxgn PLAITS.

APPLICATION TILED SEPT. 22,1909.

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PATENTED DEC. 11, 1906.

I E. K. A. MEUMANN & M. J. HIRSCH.

SEWING MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING SMOCKED PLAITS.

APPLIOATIOI FILED SEPT. 22, 1905.

No. 838,348. PATENTBD DEC. 11, 1906- E. K. A. MEUMANN dz M. J. HIRSCH. SEWING MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING SMOCKED PLAITS.

' LPPLIOATIOI FILED SEPT. 22, 1905.

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7 fZy/ar A liul/Z I PATENTED DEC. 11, 1906. E. K. A. MEUMANN dz M. J. HIRSGH.

SEWING MACHINE FOR MANUPAGT name SMOCKED FLA-ITS.

APPLIOA'I'ION FILED 811F122. 1905.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMIL KARL AUGUST MEUMANN AND MAX JOSEPH HIRSCH, OF SCHGNAUQ NEAR ()IIEMXITZ, GERMANY.

SEWING-MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING SMOCKED PL AITS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 11, 1906. 7

Application filed September 22, 1905. Serial No. 279,668.

T all 114mm it may concern.- I

Be it. known that we, EMIL KARL Arot's'r MEUMAXX and MAX JOSEPH Ilmscn, citizens of the Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire, residing at Schonau, near Chemnitz, Kingdom of Saxony, Germany, have invented a new and useful Sewing-Machine for Mannfacturing Smocked Plaits, of which the following is a specification.

The invention has for its object a sewingmachine for the manufacture of smocked plaits in fabrics in such a-manner as to make them elastic and closely-fitting, to which end the material is plaited and the plaits are sewed together at predetermined intervals at alternate places.

There are known Singer or other sewingmachines on which the plaits in the material are sewed together by means of a single needle by a continuous thread at alternate places. In this machine, however, the plaited material must be moved intermittently to and fro in the longitudinal direction of these plaits from stitch to stitch beneath this one needle. The smocked plait is formed only after the material has been twice passed through the machine. As compared with this known process, the present invention exhibits the essential improvement that the material is passed through the machine once only and in one and the same direction, this being rendered possible owing to the fact that the material plaited transversely to its direction of feed is sewed simultaneously throughout the desired width by a series of needles-that is to say, by at .east two needles. By this means the output is largely increased. Further, threads of different color may be employed for the different needles, so that by orming knots differently-colored smocked plaits with ornamental effects may be produced. In order that while utilizing a number of needles and threads strong knots which are not liable to come undone may be formed automatically, two stitches are made for each knot, and each stitch is passed through the loop of the other, so that chain-stitches are formed. Each needle passes alternately through two holes, so that the thread of each stitch is interlaced with the loop of the preceding stitch. The sewing-machine for carrving this method into practice is broadly c aracterized by a row of horizontal needles, which each cooperate with a double looptaker displaccable in a plane upward and downward and to and fro; also, bya mateal-holdcr displaccable to and fro and upward and downward, in which holder a verticallymovable stitch-plate is arranged for plaiting. This material-holder is provided with an ap- 6o propriate prcsserfoot and also a material-1 feeder.

Figure 1 is a section through the sewing machine on the line A A of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 1s a plan of the machine. Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line X X of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail view showing the lever S and cam q-in elevation and the holder it and stitch-plate i in section. Fig. 5 is a vertical section on the line B B of Fig. 6, and Fig. 6 is a front eleva-e tion of the material-holder with the stitche plate, 'feeder, and the loop-taker. Figs. 7 22 illustrate diagrammatically the formation of the knots and plaits. Figs. 23 and 24 are respectively upper and under views of the 7 goods, and Fig. 25 illustrates diagrammatic ally the path of the thread in the formation of the knois, the holder It not being shown'in this figure.

The machine comprises any desired num- 8o ber of horizontal needles o (in the present example four,) which are mounted in a re-- ciprocating needle-holder b. This latter receives its movements from a cam c and link (1, Figs. 1 and 2. The cam c is mounted upon the shaft e, from which the looptakers 2- hereinafter. described, the 111aterial-holder k, and the stitch- )late'i also receive their movements. The shaft e is driven by means of a: train of gearing f from a shaft 9, which is provided with a cord-pulley it, provided with a suitable handle.

The stitch-plate 'i, which is movable up-. ward and downward in the material-holdcr k, coo )eratcs with the horizontal needles. 5 This plate lifts the material I, which is placed 11 )on the material-holder for the formation oi a plait in which knots are formed. The stitch-plate is provided with vertical slots to permit of the unim )eded passage of the needles. \Vhen the iormation of the knots, is finished, the stitch-plate descends in the materialholdcr and the tied plait is turnedv over toward the rear side of the material holder la This is effected by means ofa-1o5 spring-controlled cover-like material-feeder m, Figs. 5, 6, 19, and 20, which bears against the upper edge of the stitch-plate and upon IOO raise the rear arm of the lever 8.

the descent of the stitch-plate depresses the plait. On its lower edge this cover m is provided with recesses n for the free passage of the needles. The upper or lower edge of the cover at is provided with openings 0 for the engagement of material n'esser-feet 11, which firmly retain the tied plait on the materialholder 1' until the .completion of the tying of a fresh plait.

The stitch-plate '2' receives its upward and downward movement from a cam-plate q, mounted on the shaft 0 by means of a lever 8, Figs. 2 and 4, rotatably mounted at '1', the front arm of this lever passing through the material-holder 1' into the stitch-plate. Upon each complete revolution of the shaft e the stitch-plate i is twice depressed, owing to the fact that the projections of the cam q A spring at, acting upon the reara rm of the lever 8, again lifts the stitch-plate i.

For the formation of honeycombed or smocked workthat is to say, for the formation of plaits of rhomboidal form, Fig. 23it is necessary that the knots of each plait should be alternate with or be displaced relatively to those of the adjacent plait. In the present case this is ell'ected by lateral displacement of the material-holder I; in one direction or the other. To this end the material-holder is, together with the stitch-plate i, the material presser-feet 1), and the feeder m, are mounted upon a carriage 'u, displaceable horizontally, Fig. 3. From a camplate 'v, secured on shaft e, motion is communicated to carriage 21 through joint-arm w, linked to carriage u and entering cam-plate 'v by means of stud H. On carriage It lies carriage 9 arranged so that it can be shifted horizontally and carrying the presser-feet p. Carriage a: is moved by a cam-plate 1 through a spring-controlled arm 2, secured to jointarm to, so Lhat it can turn. Carriages u and a: are attached to a. third slide 1, the latter being adapted to move vertically on the machine-frame through the action exerted thereon by a cam-plate 13, by the joint-arm w, and by the stud 14. Both studs 14 and 14 of joint-arm w are so long that they gear to a sufficient depth into their respective camplates 13 and 1; and that they are not thrown out of gear and disconnected from either cam-plate when an up-and-down motion or a reciprocating motion is imparted to omtarm to. As a result of this arrangement in addition to being able to effect lateral movements the material-holder is able to effect, with tl material, the stitch-plate, the feet, and the cover, movements upward and downward also, the obiect of this being as follows: The tying is effected with a single thread for each needle. It is imposible to employ a two-thread stitch, owing to-the difficulty of arranging shuttles or rotary looptakers for loop formation. On the other band, however, an ordinary chain stitch should not be used, because when this is dam aged in one place it comes undone. this reason that the present arrangement is adopted, so that each needle passes alter.- nately through two holes and the loops of threadof the alternate stitches are interlaced one with the other, Fig. 25. In this manner strong knots, secure from coming undone, are formed automatically. To this end a double loop-taker 2 is provided for each needle, Fig. 6. The loop-taker consists of a vertical rod having two horizontal portions, the upper portion being provided with two tlownwardly-extending teeth 2 2 and the lower portion with two upwaidly-extending teeth 2* 2, the outer tooth of each pair be-. ing straight, while the inner one curves to ward the outer tooth, so that the free ends of the two teeth are close together. The looptakers move upward and downward in front It is for of the material-holder is, also making lateral movements in order to arrange the loops.-

All the loop-takers are mount ed upon an arm 3 above the material-holder and parallel with it, this arm 3 forming the rectangular prolongation of the front arm of a two-armed lever 4, Figs. 1 and 2. This lever is rotatably mounted upon a support 5, which is fixed upon a carriage 6, sliding horizontally in the frame of the machine. The carriage is provided with a tappet 7 in engagement with a ca m-plate S, Fig. 2, mounted upon the shaft 6, which plate produces the lateral displacement in one direction of the carriage 6, and with it that of the loop-takers 2. Springs 9 draw back the carriage 6 with the looptakers 2. The lever 4 is provided with a tappet 10, in engagement with a cam-plate mounted upon the shafte, which plate, with the cooperation of a spring 12, acting upon the rear arm of the lever 4, rocks the said lever, thereby causing the loop-takers 2 to move up and down in front of the material-holder while they are effecting their lateral displace ments.

The operation of the described machine on plaiting and sewing relatively displaced or alternating knots will be best tmderstood by reference to .Figs. 722. Fig. 7 shows the position of the material, of the stitch-plate, of the feet for pressing the material, and of the loop-takers at the beginnin of the first stitch. The material I, which lies over the material-holder k, is lifted by the raised stitch-plate i and formed into a vertical plait which it is desired to sew. The needle a has passed through the plait and the upper loopformer on the loop-takers 2 and is about to move back. In the backward movement of the needle the loop-taker effects a movement upwm l and to the right, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 7. Thereby the lower lo0p' former on the loop-taker 2 seizes the thread on the needle and tightens the loop, Fig. 8.

The firststitch is now completed. Before the second stitch is begun (this being made about two millimeters above the first stitchhole) an appropriate down movement is imparted to the material-lmlder Ir, while the needles and loop-takws retain their position. Owing to the dowmvard movement of the material-holder, the loop formed by the looptaker assumes an upwardl v-directed position, Fig. 5). The needle now moves forward in order to form the second stitch, passing J through the loop of the first stitch. Fig. 10.

During the return of the needle the looptaker ell'ects a downward movement and a lateral movementtoward the left hand. the lower loop-former releasing the loop and the upper loop-former seizing the thread on the needle, Fig. 11. The second stitch is now finished. The material-holder Ir moves from the position represented in Fig. 11 to tha shown in Fig. 12 in order to enable the needle to make the third stitch (in the first stitchhole,) Figs. 12 and 13,in passing through the downwardly-drawn loop of the second stitch which was formed by the upper loop-former. During the return of the needle, Fig. 13, the loop-taker eil'ects an upward movement and at the same time a movement toward the right hand. The upper loop-former releases its loop and the lower loop-former forms a ,fresh one on the needle, Fig. 14. The needle now begins to make its fourth stitch, which takes place in the second stitch-hole after the material-holder has effected its downward movement from the position represented in Fig. 14 into that shown in Fig. 15. The lower loop-former has then drawn upward the last loop of the first stitch-hots, Fig. 15, so that the needle, Fig. 16, may pass through this loop. During the return of the needle from this position, Fig. 17, the upper loopformer seizes the thread and the loop-taker makes a larger dounward movement, so that a long depending loop, Fig. 18, is formed. The knot formed of four stitches is now finished and the preparations for the formation of the next plait and knot then take place. The stitclrplate i, which in Fig. 18 is still situated in the upper position, descends in the material-holder. During this descent of the stitch-plate the feeder m for the material, Fig. 19, brings the stitched or tied plait toward the rear side of the materialholder k, and the presser-feet, which shortly before ascended, again descend in order to firmly hold the tied plait on the material-holder, Fig. 20. At the same time the stitch-plate 11 again ascends and forms a. fresh plait in the material, Fig. 21. The last loop, Fig. 18, must be of such a length that it does not impede the formation of the fresh plait or of the lateral displacement of the material-holder in order that the tying of the fresh plait may be effected in positions displaced relatively to those of the previous plait. Fig. 22 is a view corresponding to Fig. 1b, showing the readytiedfrcsh plait before it is fed onward. Fig. 25 renders the path ofthe thread during the formation of the knots intelligible. thread 16 first of all passes through the first stitch-hole IT and back, forming the loop 18, 1 then through the second stitch-hole 19, I through the loop 18, and back through the hole It). Th thread then passes again through the first stitch-hole 17, forms the loop 20, passes through this same hole back to thehole 1S), thence through the loop .20 to the loop-taker 2, where it forms the large loop 21, and from there it passes through the stitch-hole 1S) and around the material-holder to the needle (2 In the constructional form of sewing-machine here represented the needles are reciprocated eight times to each complete revolution of the shaft c. As a result u )on each revolution of the shaft e two p aits are formed and sewed. After the needles have completed four stitches they come to rest, and in order to produce this idle period the cam-plate is formed with two long concentric guideways at diametrically opposite places. During this idle period of the needles the sewed plait is removed by the feeder m, the material-holder k is displaced laterally l) \'l1t1l-f the needle int rval, and the s itchplate is raised for the purpose of forming a new plait.

It should be understood that the construc tion of the machine may be modified in many ways in accordance with the nature and arrangement of the operating means and mechanisms without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having now particularly described and as certained the nature of our said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is 1. A machine for producing waved or smocked plaits comprising a plurality of reciprocating needles with means for operating them," means for carrying a thread to each needlecousisting of a double-loop taker for each needle, means for holdingthe material in plaits transversely of the path of the needles, and means for causing the needles and their threads to pass alternately through two holes in the plaits for each knot which is formed in such a manner that the threadloops of the alternating stitches are interlaced with each other by the loop-takers.

2. A sewing-machine for producing waved or smocked plaits comprising a plurality of horizontally-arranged reciprocating needles, a needle-bar for carrying said needles, a material-holder, and a stitch-plate reciprocating vertically and cooperating with the materialholder to form a lait at right angles to the 1 needles, :1 doubleoop taker having a vertical l The i and horizontal reciprocating movement and a disk 0 for giving such movements to the loop-taker and for operating the needle-bar.

plait upon the removal of the stitch-plate and g a douhleJoop taker having a vertical and {horizontal reciprocating movement a disk c f for giving such movement to the loop-taker r5 5' and for operating the needlebar.

EIlllL KARL AUGUST MEDIAN).

MAX JOSEPH lllRSClI.

Witnesses:

FREDERICK J. DIETZMAN, C. F. SULSBERGER. 

